November 19, 2001
FURMAN EDGES CHARLOTTE 58-57
IN WOMEN'S BASKETBALL ACTION
GREENVILLE -- Deshara Shealey's layup with 32 seconds left in the game lifted the Furman Lady Paladins to a 58-57 win over the visiting Charlotte 49ers in basketball action Monday night at Timmons Arena.
Trailing 57-56, Furman's Alison Thomason stole the ball from Charlotte's Peaches Harris and passed it to Shealey, who scored the layup to put the Lady Paladins ahead for good. Furman then survived two 49er shots over the final 19 seconds, including a 3-point attempt by Monica League that bounced off the front of the rim as time expired.
Paced by senior Mary Brock's game high 22 points, Furman (1-1) evened its record after opening the season Friday night with a loss at South Carolina. Led by Tonika Smith's 15 points, Charlotte (1-1) suffered its first loss of the 2001-02 campaign following a season opening win over UNC Greensboro.
The game included 60 turnovers, but the Lady Paladins overcame their sloppy play and a 44-39 rebounding deficit by outshooting Charlotte 44.2 percent to 31.3 percent. Brock drained 11-of-14 field goals and claimed eight rebounds in the contest. Orion Wake led all rebounders with 11 boards.
Ahead 28-25 at intermission, Furman saw its lead evaporate in the first 20 seconds of the second half as Harris hit a jump shot and Smith completed a three-point play to put Charlotte ahead 29-28.
Later, a 3-pointer by Shealy at the 11:37 mark gave Furman a 42-40 lead and keyed a 10-2 run that saw the Lady Paladins stretch their advantage to 49-42 following a Katie Roach free throws with 8:53 remaining.
Charlotte, however, answered Furman's run with its own 10-3 spurt to tie the game at 52-52 on a League layup a the 4:29 juncture.
From that point the lead changed four times before Shealey tallied the game wininng layup.
Furman returns to action on Wednesday night when it takes on Ohio in Athens, Ohio., in a 7:00 p.m. contest. Charlotte takes on Jackson State on Nov. 24 in the first round of a tournament hosted by Texas A&M. Game time is 4:00 p.m.